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Toronto Maple Leafs

Maple Leafs Quick Hits: Crease Clearing, Nylander & Mrazek

The Toronto Maple Leafs are having a good season, but aren’t without issues. How about their goalies? Do they need better net protection?

in this addition of Toronto Maple Leafs’ quick heads, I’ll take a look at some of the difficulties the team is having in front of the net. Are the goals-against a goalie problem; or, are they a problem that the defense can’t clear opponents from out of the way?

Second, I’ll take a look at William Nylander’s season. Although he’s having a career season, he simply needs to have a better plus-minus. Third, I’ll take a look at Peter Mzarek’s games recently and wonder how long he’ll be able to keep his job with the team if he doesn’t improve his play.

Related: Maple Leafs Are Searching NHL for Goaltending Help, Checked on Fleury

Quick Hit One: Is It the Maple Leafs’ Defense or the Goalies?

Why are the Maple Leafs’ goalies getting scored on so often from in-close? That’s a question I keep asking myself.

If you’re like me, it just seems that the Maple Leafs’ goalies are getting scored on from close range. Every time I recall a goal against, I get this picture in my mind of a tipped shot that changes direction or a scrum in front of the net where the puck can be seen as sliding slowly but surely through the Maple Leafs’ goalie into the net for a score. 

It just seems that both Maple Leafs’ goalies, Jack Campbell and Petr Mrazek, allow a lot of goals that originate right in front of the net. I’m starting to see why Maple Leafs’ head coach Sheldon Keefe so often makes a point that the team has to play better in front of the goalies. 

Part of defending the goalie seems to be able to clear opponents from in front of the net. The other night, I saw the newest Maple Leafs’ defenseman Ilya Lyubushkin simply smash an opponent to the ground with a great hit. It seems that the Maple Leafs need more of that kind of play; and, with Jake Muzzin out of the lineup, don’t have other players who’ll step up to keep opponents from setting up shop in the crease. 

When the playoffs come and the going gets even tougher in front of the net, moving opponents out is a good thing to do. 

Quick Hit Two: William Nylander Is Having a Career Season, But …

Sometimes it’s hard to know whether the Maple Leafs’ head coach Sheldon Keefe likes William Nylander or not. Last night, for a time, the Swedish winger started on the team’s third line. However, after the Maple Leafs fell behind 4-1 and when some scoring was needed, Nylander jumped to the second line. He also jumped onto the scoresheet with his second multiple-point game in a row.

Nylander scored a goal and added an assist in the overtime loss to Arizona Thursday night. Nylander now has 23 goals and 31 assists (for 54 points) in 58 games this season. He was, for a while, a point-a-game player, but he (and the entire John Tavares line) went into a bit of a funk. 

William Nylander, Maple Leafs

Still, Nylander’s on pace for a career season. His biggest issue is his plus/minus. He has the poorest rating on the team with a minus-11. Since January 9, he’s been minus-18 in 26 games. The entire team is having trouble now, but he’s especially at issue.

Takeaway Three: Petr Mrazek Is Getting Another Chance on Sunday

The reputation on Petr Mrazek is that he’s a pretty solid goalie who can sometimes carry a team if he can get hot. That’s not the goalie we’ve been seeing in the net recently, however. He just seems to have a ton of moving parts; and, right now, these parts seem to be moving in the wrong direction.  

Mrazek is just too active in the crease and gets out of position way too often. Against the Coyotes, he just went down too early and wasn’t able to move quick enough on a redirection. He stopped only eight of 12 shots, which is not good enough. 

When Erik Kallgren came in and played well, I wondered if he might get a chance to start the next game. But, it looks as if Mrazek will get that job. Mrazek was named to be the starter on Sunday afternoon against the Buffalo Sabres. 

Maple Leafs’ fans can only hope he’ll be better than he was two nights ago. He’s allowed 13 goals during his last three games. His goals-against-average has dropped to 3.44 and his save percentage to .884.

Related: Four Takeaways from Maple Leafs 5-4 Overtime Loss to Coyotes

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  1. Pingback: Rangers Shifting Focus Off of J.T. Miller, Other Target In Sight mejorsports.com – The Best Sports News in the World of Sports | mejorsports.com

  2. Pingback: Should Maple Leafs Erik Kallgren Be Given a Chance to Start Soon?

  3. Pingback: Should Maple Leafs Erik Kallgren Be Given a Chance to Start Soon? – Hockey 1 on 1

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